Labels

Monday, 21 December 2015

Organ transplant recipient meets parents of girl who saved her life (photos)

The parents of a five-year-old girl have met the child their daughter’s organs saved and discovered the pair have more in common than they could have imagined.Kyree Beachem, eight, of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, underwent a rare quadruple organ transplant in November after waiting five years for a liver, small bowel, colon and pancreas.

She was born with Hirschprung’s Disease, meaning she has missing nerve cells from her colon making it difficult for her to digest food.

And while she was still recovering at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC on Wednesday, Kyree received a visit from Luis and Evelyn Morales, who donated their five-year-old daughter Arianna’s organs after she died last month.

Arianna had holoprosensephaly, a disorder caused by her brain not properly dividing and growing when she was in the womb.

She died suddenly in November after falling ill, but her mother does not believe the condition was linked to her death.

‘It’s so hard to think Arianna’s not here with us anymore, focusing on all the positive things coming from her life is amazing,’ she added.

‘It was a very, very emotional meeting,’ Kyree’s mother Nan told ABC News. ‘No one broke down and sobbed, but there were a lot of quiet tears.

‘Both of them have big dimples, a love of baseball and guitars and Frozen is everything to them. We felt very connected.’

And not only has Arianna saved Kyree’s life, but her organs have also helped three other children.

On a Facebook page for Kyree, her mother added: ‘How do you say thank you to the people who made the most selfless decision in the middle of their worst nightmare?

‘Tonight, out family had the honor to meet Arianna’s parents. Luis and Evelyn are two of the most beautiful people I’ve met.

‘We shared stories about both girls and were amazed at so many similarities.